Microwave ovens commonly are used as a convenient means of heating and/or reheating food items. However, when large food items are heated in a microwave oven, some portions of the food item tend to reach the desired final heating temperature too early in the heating cycle. As a result, such portions of the food item tend to become overheated, dry, and/or charred, while other portions remain underheated. Thus, there is a need for a package, container, or other construct that controls the rate of heating of the food item so that a substantial portion of the food item is not heated to the desired final heating temperature prematurely, such that the food item is suitably and substantially uniformly heated at the end of the heating cycle.